This movie is, from the perspective of a Beatles fan, not the greatest, because it doesn't show the Beatles. However, the story is good, as is the animation and the movie is enjoyed by young and old.
This movie was not taken that seriously by the Beatles. They did not contribute very much to the soundtrack, and what was contributed were throwaways. They merely agreed to do the movie because they believed it would fulfill their contract for the 3 films. Another reason it wasn't a priority may be because of the limited roles they could play. They really couldn't do much for this film as it was a cartoon, they didn't even do their own voices, so their wasn't much they could do if they wanted.
The movie took advantage of some of the concepts the Beatles had thought up. They come from Pepperland, of course a reference to Sgt. Pepper.
Since its re-release in the fall of 1999, many more fans that were previously unable to see this film are now able to. In the film, Pepperland, a joyous, peaceful place is attacked by the Blue Meanies. One man makes it out and through the Yellow Submarine, and he finds the Beatles in England. The Beatles and the man travel a long ways through many obstacles to get to Pepperland. They travel through such things like, the sea of time, the sea of monsters, the sea of holes and the sea of green. Finally the arrive in Pepperland and disguise themselves and attack the Blue Meanies through their music. They eventually defeat many of the Blue Meanies, and the antagonistic Glove. A new segment added to the re-release shows the Beatles and their alteregos, member of Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, fighting against buldogs and it accompanies the song "Hey Bulldog".
The movie is a great one to see, and it is accompanied with a new Beatles cd, that is remastered and contains all of the songs from the movie, and all of the songs on the original Yellow Submarine album, minus George Martin's work. The movie, although in cartoon form, can be related to by adults and it is a good showing, despite the Beatles limited role in it. |
